Out on the Roof
by Avery Greyson
Summary: Arnold thinks about apologizing to Helga after an uncharacteristic outburst. Oneshot.


**I'm back! Returning from the depths of the interwebz to bring you more stories. It's been awhile but it's good to be back. I'm working on a longer story that I'll be uploading in the next few months, but for now enjoy this little oneshot and if you like it, let me know! **

**I got the idea for this one when HA came on TV actually, that 90's nostalgia/recap stuff on Nick that happens at like one in the morning-it was the episode where Arnold looses it and throws paint on Helga. I thought about how that same scenario would play out if they were older, say senior year in high school. What would happen if Arnold finally got tired of Helga's constant pestering and just totally flipped? **

**Enjoy! -AG**

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He stared at his phone for the fifth time that minute, searching every inch of the screen for a response. When nothing happened he dropped the phone back on his bed and sighed, falling back into his pillow. He wasn't surprised—he shouldn't have said those things to her. He knew it the moment the words left his lips and it stabbed him right in the gut. It got worse every hour as the weight of what he actually said sank in more and more with each passing minute. He shook his head and stared at the stars through the glass paneled roof in his room. It was a quarter after eleven and he knew sleep wouldn't come for a long, long while.

Arnold picked up his phone again, sliding the screen on and flipping to messages—it was blank.

The display read 11:17. Two minutes since he last checked.

He sighed again, sitting up in bed and running a hand through his messy hair. He looked back down at the screen, desperately hoping it would show some signs of life. He'd settle for anything—_go screw yourself _or maybe a _fuck off _would be a blessing. This silence was unbearable. He'd sent her six texts since it happened, he counted. He knew he was pestering her and poking at fresh wounds, but he couldn't just stay quiet.

He shook his head and stood up, grabbing a sweatshirt lying on the floor and shrugging it on—an old Hillwood High hoodie from freshman year. It had a hole in the sleeve from when he tripped in gym class his first day. She'd laughed at him and everybody joined in, making fun of the new kid and thanking the heavens it wasn't them. He smiled and shook his head as it came back to him—he looked so dopey that day. He missed it, missed the shared nervousness and excitement that came with everyone starting something new together.

Arnold crossed over to the ladder on the other side of his room and climbed the short way to the roof. He opened the glass panel and scooted out on the tar and flagstone landing, breathing in the rush of cold air as it slammed against his face. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, all the smells of the city rushing around in the wind making the perfume of car exhaust and trees. It was October and the wind was just starting to sharpen its teeth with the coming winter chill—it was brisk and exciting. Arnold walked slowly over to the water heater shed and sat on its edge, looking out at the night lights casting an orange glow on everything, fading into deep purple at the horizon. His hand absently fell to the phone in his pocket, a fuzzy bump on his flannel PJ's. He knew it would be blank but he checked anyway.

He turned his head to the side and thought a moment—if he'd gone this far he might as well finish it off. He couldn't deal with another second of non-responsive silence and, even if it was a completely horrible idea, he was going to be one to break it. Arnold puled out the phone and unlocked the screen, his thumb hovering over the dial button; maybe he _should_ just wait it out. Let her calm down first and look at it fresh in the morning. It was almost midnight now and he definitely didn't want to wake her up. _That_ would be bad. Almost on autopilot, his hand flew down to the _contacts _screen and started dialing. He got to the _H _and the _E _before it popped up as the first option—Helga Pataki. He hit dial and held brought his shaking hand up to talk.

It rang once and cut to voice mail halfway through the second ring. His stomach dropped, she'd seen it and hit ignore.

'_It's Pataki. I'm clearly not going to answer so leave me a message…or don't. I really don't care'_ the voicemail squawked.

Arnold took in a long shaky breath and waited for the beep.

"Hey, it's…it's me. Look I know you don't wanna talk to me right now. I wouldn't either really. But I just wanted to say that…well…I messed up Helga. I should have never said that stuff to you, I don't even think I meant half of it really, it just kinda came out. I know you hate me more than usual right now but I just wanted to let you know that I don't think that about you. Like…at all. You can be pretty cool sometimes and…well for what it's worth, I was wrong and I hope you can understand that. I don't want you to forgive me or anything, just know that I mean it. I was wrong. Um…so yeah. Bye,"

Arnold pressed end call and sighed.

_Gracefull_ he thought to himself. _That'll go over real nice._

He stared out across the city at the government building across town, its spotlight shining up splashing the sky with electric silver.

_Well, at least it's over._

His pocket buzzed.

Arnold jolted up like a current had gone straight through him and slammed his hand down on his leg. He fumbled with the screen finally swiped it on.

_1 New Message. Helga Pataki: You at home? Sent 11:57PM_

He stared at the screen for a moment, making sure the message was really there. He typed his response quickly.

_ Yeah, on my roof._

He pressed send and waited, staring at the screen like it was about to sprout magic beans. It buzzed back at him.

_ Can I come up? We should talk._

He gulped. 'We should talk' didn't sound good. He sent her back a _yes_ and waited, his stomach turning loops around his legs. About a minute later he heard a small rapping sound on the wall below. He ran silently over and leaned down, seeing Helga standing down in the alley. She had on a small jacket and pink PJ bottoms with her hands stuffed in the pockets—she looked cold. Arnold waved and dropped the ladder to the fire escape as quietly as he could. Helga scampered up the ladder and he raised the release cord again. He tied the cord and sat down slowly on the edge of the roof, offering her a small smile. She leaned up against the water tower and gave him a weak smile back.

"Hey," Arnold said.

"Hey,"

He took in a breath and tried to steady himself. He had no idea why he was this nervous but it felt like his stomach was in a four hundred mile an hour freefall. The silence jabbed at him like knives—he wanted to say so many things to her but no words would form themselves. She coughed and rubbed her shoulder.

"I got your message," Helga said.

"Helga, I…I messed up. I shouldn't have ever said…" Arnold started.

"No I definitely had it coming. You gave me fair warning," She said.

"That's still…I was wrong," Arnold said weakly.

"No you weren't. Not really. Jeez, what is it with me? I push buttons man. I just keep pushing and pushing until they snap. I've always done that—always get burned for it," She paused and smirked, cautiously glancing up at Arnold. "Guess I did learn a thing or two from my worthless knuckle dragging father and boozed up Mom huh?"

Arnold cut his eyes away from her. "You know I didn't really mean that"

"Like I said, I had it coming. Not too far from the truth actually. It's weird…hearing the truth sometimes," She said.

Arnold brought his eyes back to her. He wished he could beem her into his mind, maker her understand the things he was thinking, the things he couldn't figure out how to put into words. She stared back at him and then laughed, looking out at the city skyline.

"Honestly I didn't know you had it in you Football head. You, uh…that had some bite," She said, smirking at him.

He tried to hold his seriousness but broke into a smile. He never realized he'd actually be happy to be called Football Head.

"I was having a really rotten day. You caught me at the end of it," Arnold said.

"You and me both pal, you and me both," Helga said.

Arnold looked down at his feet and realized he was still holding on to his phone. He slipped it back in his pocket and looked back to Helga—she was still looking out at the hazy horizon.

"It's crazy how different everything is when you're just a few blocks away," She said absently. Helga turned back to Arnold, looking him dead in the eye. "So that message, you really mean that? You're not just getting all guilty and sappy because you said some nasty shit right?"

"No I…," Arnold stammered.

"I mean it's cool if that's the case. I do appreciate the sentiment but tell me the truth. You owe me that," Helga said.

"Seriously Helga, I meant it. Yeah you egged me on and all that, but I'm serious. I was just pissed. You're not a failure at all and…well nobody should ever think that about you. You've done some really cool stuff and just because your parents aren't perfect doesn't mean that you're going to turn out the same way. Like at all—actually I'd say you're completely the opposite. I don't really know your family that well, but I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that you're the best part of them. Like I said, for what it's worth, I was wrong Helga. Dead wrong," Arnold said.

She nodded and turned away from him.

_ Oh my god did I really just say that to her face? That was so sappy. I'm a dead man,_ he thought. He clenched his fists and waited for her to turn around and let him have it—but she just cleared her throat and kept her back to him.

"Here's the thing Football Head. I've known you for forever now and life apparently gets its sick kicks by throwing us together because I can't seem to get rid of you. I'm a Grade A bitch, I'll grant you that, but I do actually…well you're a truthful guy and I respect your opinion," Helga said.

Arnold's mouth fell open. "You…you do?"

"I'm not saying I _like _you or anything, but yeah, I can always count on you to give it to me straight. So I'll try to stop pushing you all the time if you try to just walk away," Helga said.

"What?"

"If you're about to go ballistic again, just tell me to fuck off and walk away. Don't let me keep going there. I'm not saying this is a truce or anything, but I don't really want a repeat episode of…you know…,"

"This," Arnold said.

She nodded.

He thought for a minute and stood up, smiling at her. "Deal, Pataki. Now that I know I mean so much to you,"

"Oh fuck off. Don't let that go to your head—I like your honesty," She looked him up and down "And very little else,"

Arnold took a step back, looking down at his sweatshirt with the hole in the sleeve. "What? You don't like this look?"

"Stunning as ever Arnoldo,"

They both laughed and then just stood smiling at each other. Arnold was still standing by the roof and Helga by the water tower.

"Uh, I feel like we should hug or something. Now that we've, you know, raised the white flag and all that,"

She shook her head. "Whatever gets your rocks off Arnold,"

She closed the distance between the two and grabbed him, pulling him in. He patted her back and took in the moment, resting his chin on her shoulder. He didn't know what he was feeling exactly, but it was nice. His stomach had returned to its normal place and he wasn't worried in what felt like the first time in years—it felt great. They stepped apart and just took in the night. It was almost one in the morning and school would be starting in less than six hours but neither of them cared. Right now, on top of a roof in the Lower Third District, things were just as they needed to be.

It was Helga who moved first.

"Well, I should probably get back I guess,"

Arnold nodded. "Yeah,".

He walked over to the fire escape and grabbed the release cord. "You know I was thinking…"

Helga looked up "As you do,"

Arnold chuckled "Yeah. I was _thinking_, what were you doing in my neighborhood in the first place. You're like, six blocks away,"

"I was walking. People walk when they can't sleep Arnold," Helga said defensively.

"In the alleyways behind my house?" Arnold said.

She grabbed the ladder and climbed down the first rung. "That's right Football Head, in the alleys behind your house. It's a free country, I can walk where I want," Helga said.

Arnold shook his head. "Whatever you say Helga,"

She flashed him a grin and climbed down the ladder into the darkness below. Arnold shook his head and walked back to his room.

"Whatever you say,"

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**Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for another story in the coming months! And don't forget to drop me a line or two if you liked this one-you guys are awesome! **


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